Microsoft has announced that Windows 8 will release in October, with enterprise customers and hardware partners getting access as early as August.

Microsoft has announced that Windows 8 will release in October, with enterprise customers and hardware partners getting access as early as August.

The highly-anticipated next version of Windows will be available to manufacturers in the first week of August and early August for enterprise customers with Software Assurance benefits.

General availability will be by the end of October, which means Windows 8 and Windows RT computers will be available to buy starting in October. Upgrades to Windows 8 will also be available then.

The Windows 8 commerce platform will be turned on at the beginning of August so developers can begin earning money for their apps.

This news suggests Microsoft is well on track for a major Christmas blitz of Windows 8 products, which should include desktop PCs, laptops, and tablets. A whopping 231 markets across the world will sell Windows 8, with 109 different languages available.

Microsoft also announced that Windows 7 has passed the 630 million licences milestone, making it the best-selling operating system of all time. The company will be hoping to beat that figure with Windows 8, which has the added advantage of functionality for the booming tablet market.